Sweet Home Chicago!

This past weekend, Mike and I took the puppy to the kennel and went on up to Chicago to see the Illini battle the Arizona Wildcats. We hoped the game would be like the last time they met in 2004 when the Illini went to the final four in St. Louis, but unfortunately, this time they lost.

We met up with Tim and Laura in Collinsville on Friday evening and headed up to the windy city. We ended up getting there a little after midnight and couldn't even muster up any energy to get one drink at our fun looking hotel on Michigan Ave. Oh well. So we got up early, went to breakfast and then Laura and I went on our shopping adventure, while the boys did their manly watching the basketball game thing that they do.

The city is awesome. It is so big and there is so much to do. We saw three Walgreens within the first few blocks we walked and passed three Ann Taylor Lofts! We went into several stores (mainly to get the feeling back in our toes), but didn't buy much since the lines were around 2 miles long. Oh well, saved some money, right? After our shopping, we heard from Mike and Tim that the game was over and met them at a bar near the United Center. It was great to see all their college friends and hang out. Everyone was in pretty good spirits despite the Illini loss. From there we decided to go to Wrigleyville, which is obviously where Wrigley Field is.

We went on our impromptu pub crawl and took lots of crazy pictures. I usually don't like taking pictures of people, because I feel like I'm being annoying, but I got more courageous as the night went on. Here's a free lesson in bar photography...just hold the camera up above your head and fire a few off. And poof, candid, silly pictures. Boy, I'm good...I should write a book!

By midnight we were back to the hotel ready to sleep, because that was a long long day! We had to leave early the next day because of course, a string of ice storms was lining I-55 and we knew we'd have to drive slower than normal. Luckily the roads weren't too bad and we were able to get back on time to get the puppy from the kennel.

What a great trip, but way too short...I'm going back again and definitely when its warm! Chicago in December...What were we thinking?!?!

Mammoth Pictures

A few weeks ago, Mike and I went to Mammoth Mountain in California with our friends Kim and Ty. Kim is my friend who I met when I first started working at Boeing and we both moved to California for work. She moved to Ridgecrest, CA (2.5 hours North of LA in the desert) and I moved to Lancaster, CA (about an hour north of LA also in the desert).

It was the first weekend of ski season, but since none of skied we just enjoyed the scenery. If we did ski we would've been disappointed because there was only one run open on the mountain. Anyway, I just wanted to share some pictures from our vacation, so here they are!

Below is a picture of June Lake. (8 miles north of the ski resort)


Kim and I at Mono Lake (15 miles north of the ski resort).


Next is a picture of the hot springs we saw.

This is convict lake. It is my favorite lake because I love the way the mountains dip down around it. I have some pictures of this from the last time Mike and I went to Mammoth when we lived in California and it looks so different because it was barely cloudy out last time.

Thanks for checking out my pictures!

Wa Waaaaa!

It was Oct 20th, the day of the Illini-Michigan football game. We were raring to go see an Illini win. We packed up the car and went to tailgate all...day...long. Mike and I had to stay in Decatur (there were no hotels closer to Champaign, too many Michigan fans got those). Jobu and Dimple and Mike Lemons also stayed in D-town and rode up with us. Below is a picture of Jobu, Dimple and their frind Missy.

We made it safely to the tailgate area, only losing our tarpaulins on the road. We didn't have enough room in the car for the table, so Mike tied the table to roof of the SUV and put some towels underneath it. The towels flew out from under the table right as we approached Champaign and some guy following us in a car rolled down his window to warn us we had lost our "tarpaulins". We had no clue what he was talking about until someone informed us that tarpaulin is what tarp is short for...ohhh, what you learn as you go tailgating.

Once everything was set up the party was started. We met up with Matt Kraft and his friend Beth. They had the grill and the food, we had the beer and the extras. Matt and Beth below.Mike brought along his bags game, so that was a big hit. I tried to play, but sucked, so I gave up. Yes, I quit my bags career before it even started. Mike and Matt, however were experts in the game and were in charge of telling everyone how to throw the bags and where exactly to position the ramp thingy, as shown below.


While we were there we had a lot of fun hanging out with the people who came to our tailgate as well as the outsiders who were just out to have fun and get free beer. These two guys were in the Marching Illini back in '80 or '90-who knows when. They played for beer, so we gave them a Bud Select and got to hear some good ol' fashion Illini fight song. Of course, Matt's friend Beth was the only one who actually knew the words, but the rest of us were nice and stood and clapped.Jenna and Dave made their appearance and of course brought the lovely Adelle! Isn't she cute?! She can be so serious! She was busy calling people so I didn't bother her too much with mundane things like taking her picture. :)


Of course after the food and beer were consumed and we had enough fun playing bags and laughing at the guys tailgating next to us doing keg stands, we headed in for the game! It was supposed to be such a great game...the Illini were finally getting it together and Michigan hasn't been great this year. This was going to be a game for the record books...wa waaaaa...it was not unfortunately. It was a game full of many mistakes and it almost seemed like both teams were trying to lose at times. I was pulling for the Illini, but they just couldn't do it. I think the Iowa loss got to them. Oh well, they are still doing good and now are bowl game bound (after the Ball State win this week.) Who knows, they could end up in a bowl game against a big 12 team...Kansas State anyone? Uh oh, I smell t-r-o-u-b-l-e.

Go Illini!

Visitors...

This weekend, my friend Julie and her husband Andy came out to visit Mike and me in St. Charles. It was great seeing them...and great having some other KSU fans in the house so we didn't talk about the Illini for one weekend. ;) Just kidding, Mike!

Saturday we took Andy and Julie on the Bud Brewery tour in St. Louis. It was fun. Free beer...can't beat that. We saw the Clydesdale's and barley and hops and huge barrels to mix it all in. I had been once before when I first moved to St. Louis, but it was still interesting.

My next goal is to talk someone into going to Grants Farm...animals and beer...nice!









Left: Mike and I touring the grounds of the brewery.

Below: Julie and I drinking our free beer.

After our morning learning about beer...we went to the another Anheuse-Busch owned property...Busch Stadium. We watched the Cards kick the Phillies' you-know-whats on Saturday! Sure it was hot out, but we had great seats (22 rows up from the field...good job, Mike!) and once it rained a little, the weather was great!

After the Cards' victory, we all needed naps and showers. We tried (for the fourth time I think) to go to Tony's on Main Street, but it was an hour and 45 minute wait at 6pm. So we went to Spiro's on 94 and had a great dinner! Topped off the evening by going back to our house and enjoying the weather out on the deck and just relaxed.

It was a fun weekend! Thanks for coming Julie and Andy...hope to see you guys again soon!

Our Shimmy becomes a Denney

Kim and Ty's big day is finally here! Lets start it off by meeting at 7:30 and getting prettied up! Yay!

We went to the salon and Kim and the seven bridesmaids got hair and makeup done. It was a nice morning...we had plenty of munchies and lots of girl talk. Kim was super calm and looked beautiful with her hair up and make up on. She looked like a princess chillin out in her sweatshirt.

Once hair and makeup was done we went back to the hotel, but couldn't do too much. I had a lot of hairspray in, but not enough to go hang out on the beach! So I hung out in the hotel room chattin with Mike and it was finally time to put my dress on. I really liked it so was quite excited to wear it...Thank you Kim for not getting us BoPeep dresses like the one Rachel wore on Friends!

We got to the church and before long it was time for me to lead us all down the aisle. It was so great getting to stand up there with Kim and her friends. It was such a nice ceremony because Ty's grandpa performed it and he was able to add such personal touches. I was doing great and not even tearing up until Ty's grandpa started talking about how great the two are and how he's so happy Ty met Kim and how wonderful she was. I kept thinking, I think that too. They are both so great...so Luke and Lorelai. :)

After the ceremony, a few pics were taken and then it was time to board the trolley...only problem...its raining. So, Mr. Trolley guy has his umbrella so we were able to stay dry. We had enough hairspray to withstand a hurricane, but better safe than sorry.

On the trolley, we had to just wait and see what happened with the rain and enjoyed the ride...the Denny boys opened a few bottles of champagne and we drank to the newlyweds!

The rain luckily stopped and we were able to take pictures on the beach. It was gorgeous out, but pretty bright. I don't have any pictures from that, but will get them from Kim someday.

We got to the reception and had dinner, drinks...normal stuff...then the fun began...the dancing!!! I love to dance, by the way!


Kim and Ty started out with their first dance. They had everyone blow bubbles during the dance instead of after the ceremony and it was so magical!





After their sappy moment...the rest of us hit the dance floor. We stopped a few times to pose for pictures. Here are the Boeing geeks at the party...Nate, Kim, me, and Jenn.

I really enjoyed meeting Kim's friends...they are so much fun...here is a picture of me with Lara and Laura. I couldn't believe I was nervous I wouldn't have as much fun as I did because I wouldn't know anyone else in the bridal party! All the Illinois girls knew how to have fun!


Nate was all about dancing, so he and Kim showed us all how it was done!

Then of course was the normal bouquet and garter toss...guess who caught the garter?

The engaged guy! Not fair! Of course when I saw it was a San Diego Chargers garter, I lost it! I'm not a big fan because I'm not a Marty Shottenheimer fan after he left the KC Chiefs! Then after a while of whining about it, I remembered they fired him. Okay, so maybe I don't have to burn that thing!

After doing the electric slide, boot scoot, and bringing sexy back, we finally went to bed. It was such a long day and I knew we had to get up early the next day and drive home. All 12 hours of it! It was worth it though. Mike and I had a fantastic time marrying off our very own Kimmy Shimmy...who is now Kimmy Denny! Thanks for the great weekend! Hope our wedding is just as fun!

Day Before the Wedding

Friday morning I did not get up at 9:30 with everyone else to get nails done...thank goodness. We slept in because after the night before, I could not get out of bed!

Instead of a manicure I had to make a CVS run to get IB Profin...yeah, you can guess what that was for... allergy medicine and some other stuff we forgot. Can't go on vacation without leaving something at home!

I then met all the ladies for a luncheon at a cute restaurant in Fort Walton. Everyone was in a good mood, but you could tell who went out the night before by who got the champagne martinis and who got water or sweet tea!

It was a nice lunch...filled with fresh seafood meals. One meal was a bit too fresh from the sea...a whole fried soft shell crab on a sandwich. Hmm, when I usually eat a type of animal, I don't want to see it in its true form. I prefer to think its not from a animal that has been animated by Disney or something. So that was sent back and something less telling of what it was was ordered. I would've done the same thing!

Left: Lara, Kristen and I hanging at the beach before the rehearsal. Below: I am making Mike pose even though he'd rather be swimming in the water!

We were only able to hang out at the beach for less than an hour before we had to be to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Things went smooth , but I had learned that it is supposedly bad luck for the bride to rehearse at the rehearsal so we had to have a stand in. Good job Ellie!

Dinner was great at an Italian restaurant in town. I got the steak, but I wish I would've just ordered just the dessert plate. Yum! Dinner was filled with speeches and a few happy tears. Every speech began with, "We though Ty was crazy for moving all the way out to California to work at a base when we have Eglin Air Force Base, right here in town..." But they all ended with, "But we knew why he did it when we all met Kim." All together now...Ahhh!

After dinner we went to a bar called Helen Back (say it out loud to yourself and you will understand the name is not just a person's unfortunate name) with Lara (as in Lara Croft), Laura (as in normal Laura ;) ) and their beau's. We met up with the other Boeing people (Nate & Heather and Jenn & Mike) and had a few drinks.

While at the bar, we found a new game. Someone decided to attach a metal ring to a string on the ceiling and a hook on the wall. The point of the game was to swing the ring and get it on the hook. I'd fit in great down there because I'm easily entertained by stuff like that.

Off to bed...tomorrow is the big day!
(Didn't take too many pictures that day because I had to save battery for the big day!)

Off to Florida!

I know it has again been a while since I have posted. Last week was crazy because we were getting ready to head to Florida for Kim and Ty's wedding and there was so much to do! We met my parents in Columbia so they could take Rou home and watch him while we were gone. He really likes Grandma and Grandpa in KC because they have the big back yard he gets to run in until he can't stand up anymore. We got home late that night and had to pack up still and get to bed early so we could leave no later than 8am...so we left Wednesday morning at 8:15.

We arrived in Florida at our hotel at noon on Thursday...stopped overnight near Montgomery. Not too bad of a drive but everyone thought we were crazy...oh well.

It was sooo beautiful down there! We stayed on Fort Walton Beach which is in between Destin and Pensacola. Our hotel was right on the beach! We ate next to our hotel in an outdoor restaurant that overlooked the ocean...I fell in love with it out there! Not a big fan of going in the ocean, but I sure do like to look at it!

Once we got all settled and had some beach time, we went to Ty's family's house in Niceville...geez who could live up to the name Niceville? Well, it really is an appropriate name after meeting Ty's family... ahhhhh! We all hung out and ate burgers and met each other. I was the bridesmaid who knew no one but Kim and Ty, but clicked pretty well with everyone else. They are all so nice...maybe it was just because of the town we were in...hmmmm?

After we ate it was off to embarrass...oh wait, I mean celebrate Kim and her marriage. We took her on her bachelorette party! Now, of course what happens in Florida stays in Florida, or something like that...but we really didn't get too crazy! We got her shots and had guys buy her drinks, but that was about it. We did run into a bachelor party that was going to bar to bar on a pontoon boat...drunk guys driving around a pontoon boat at night...hmmm?

During the evening, Kim had to perform dares on these little cards Lara bought. They were a hoot! They ranged from have a guy buy you a drink to go break dance...we improvised on some of them, but Kim was a good sport about it. She humored us in her sash and veil!

About 2am we rolled back to the hotel and I went to my room to find that I was alone...Mike and the other guys went out for a last minute bachelor party and still weren't home...hmmm? I was hoping they didn't get a pontoon boat like that other bachelor party did! Oh well, I was too sleepy to care at that time...sent him a text and went to bed! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Take me out to the Ball Game!

Hmmm, its been a while since I've written in my blog. Sorry, blog, but my life is somewhat boring right now. This past week has been mostly work, come home, eat dinner, go to sleep. Not something anyone wants to read about.

One thing to note is that we went to the Cardinals game on Friday night against the Astros with some friends, Matt and Beth. It was the first one I've been to this year.


We had great seats on the third base line (Thanks, Matt's Dad!). We were under an overhang, so no foul balls. Oh well. It was a nice night...it had rained most of the day, so I thought it was going to rain during the game too, but we were lucky.

After the seventh inning stretch we went to the Party Porch. It was only up one level from our seats. Its basically a bar that anyone can go to and you can still watch the game on the field or on TV. And they served beer even after last call (that's why we after the seventh inning).

Even better than an extended time for drinking... the Cards actually won! They have been in a pretty bad drought lately. They've been struggling and it didn't help when one of the pitchers, Josh Hancock, was killed in a car wreck a few weeks ago. They had a memorial tribute to Hancock on Friday, but we missed it. Saw part of it on TV and it looked very nice. Seems like a lot of the players will really miss him. I just hope people learn from Hancock's mistakes by not drinking and driving instead of making them again.

Follow Them to the Edge of the Desert

I haven't written in a few days, but now I have a lot to say! I just got back from visiting my friend Tracee in Arizona. It was her bridal shower last Saturday and it was a blast. The whole weekend was as a matter of fact. Lots of chit chat, wedding stuff and Gilmore Girls watching. That's right, Tracee is a Gilmore freak like me and the title of the post is a reference to the episode where Lane's band plays their first party and they can't figure out a band name. Its also good considering I think we went to the edge of the desert in Phoenix because Tracee and Justin live so far out!

Tracee picked me up from the airport and right away we were talking as if I'd never moved away...hmmm...15 years ago. Wow, that's a long time. Of course we had to check out each other's rings and talk about the fiance's at home. Then we got to Tracee's house, finally...like I said, it was like we were at the Edge of the Desert. It is a really cute 3 bedroom, 2 bath house on a lot of land. Her soon to be hubby does landscaping and plans to build a nursery out back. I couldn't see much of the outside at night, but I could smell it. they live next door to horses, pigs, and pretty soon, billy goats. It wasn't really that bad, but I did point out to her that she made fun of me because we had cows near our house in Kansas and now she lives right next door to some! Ha ha! Here is a picture of the pig next door.

The next day was the shower and it was so fun. She has such nice friends and everyone was in a good mood. We ate wonderful food (chips and salsa, dips, chicken enchilada's, and quesadillas), opened presents and only played two silly games. Of course I didn't win, because the first game was that you couldn't say the word "wedding" during the shower and I'm too much of a talker for that.

It was also great seeing Tracee's mom and sister. It had been a while since I'd seen any of them. They all seem to be doing well. Here is Tracee and her mom. She's holding a bouquet of bows from the presents. Its a tradition to keep the bows and make them into a bouquet for the wedding ceremony rehearsal. Supposedly, however many ribbons you break is how many kids you have. Tracee was pretty careful with the gifts, so I don't think she broke too many. Maybe she'll only have 5 kids or so...

The rest of the weekend consisted of watching Gilmore Girls (and the James Bond Casino Royal movie), shopping, hair cut and coloring, and just general girl stuff. I was also able to see Tracee in her wedding dress, but I can't post pictures just in case they get into the wrong hands. Since I can't go to the wedding I was so happy I picked this weekend to visit her. I was able to meet (and approve) Justin and got to spend more quality time with her this weekend than I would have the weekend of the wedding. I also go to meet her kitty cat. I can't remember her name, but she was a sweetie.

Tracee says she bites, so I was afraid at first, but she's a good cat!

Thanks for the fun weekend, Tracee, Justin, and Kitty!

And All That Jazz!

Last night, my neighbor Amy and I went and had ourselves a night on the town. We went to dinner at the Schlafly Taproom and then see the musical Chicago at the Fabulous Fox theater downtown...and all that jazz. ;)

Dinner was good. Schlafly is a local microbrewery and so they had more bar food than steaks and seafood, but we enjoyed it. It was incredibly close to the Fox so we wouldn't be late for curtain call. We thought about bringing our boys (Ryan and Mike), but decided it wasn't worth the kicking and screaming. And then when the second song and dance number was all about how the women in jail killed their husbands, I think it was a safe bet that they wouldn't have like it. But the musical itself was great. It was so funny. I had seen the movie and enjoyed it somewhat, but don't remember laughing. I enjoy seeing the live shows because they can gauge off audience reactions and take jokes farther if they want.

As for the theater itself, it was beautiful! We sat in the balcony so we could see everything. The Fox was originally built in 1929 then restored in 1981. Since then they have really kept it up and it looks like something out of a movie. I added a link to the picture on the right if you want to read about it or see more pictures. I really hope to go back and see another play there. I'm glad Amy likes to do that sort of thing, because I know Mike would go, but I don't think he'd enjoy it really.